03/10/2025 Bertus Preller Alimony, Costs, Divorce, Divorce Amendment Act 2024, Iddah period maintenance, Maintenance, Muslim Marriages, Rule 43, Rule 43 Cost Contributions, Rule 43 orders, Spousal Maintenance, Talaq asset redistribution Muslim marriages, capital expenditure maintenance, constitutional parity litigation, costs contribution equality, Discovery medical scheme, divorce action mootness, Divorce Amendment Act 2024, hyperthyroidism treatment costs, iddah period maintenance, interim maintenance pendente lite, Islamic principles maintenance, matrimonial law South Africa, medical aid obligations divorce, Muslim marriage dissolution, Muslim marriage divorce, Pangarker J judgment, pending divorce proceedings, provident fund settlement, reasonable maintenance needs, religious marriages recognition, Rule 43 Application, section 7(3A) redistribution, section 9 Constitution, Shariah law South Africa, spousal maintenance obligations, Talaq legal effect, Taute v Taute principles, Uniform Rule 43, Western Cape High Court, Women's Legal Centre Trust case When Talaq Meets the Courtroom: Interim Maintenance After Islamic Divorce Under the 2024 Amendments – S.W v A.L (2025/094930) [2025] ZAWCHC 440 (29 September 2025). Factual Matrix: A Rule 43 Application Following Talaq and Divorce Summons The applicant and respondent in S.W v A.L (Case No 2025-094930) ZAWCHC 440 were pensioners who had married each… READ MORE
25/08/2025 Bertus Preller Children, High Court exclusive jurisdiction, Interdict, Leave to appeal Superior Courts Act, Lis alibi pendens family law, Procedural Law, Procedure, Relocation, Urgency, Urgent applications appellate review discretion, best interests child principle, child relocation South Africa, Children's Court powers, Children’s Act 38 of 2005, compelling reasons appeal, constitutional children's rights, cross-border child disputes, custody relocation assessment, expert assessment relocation, family law jurisdiction, final interdict requirements, High Court exclusive jurisdiction, international child removal, leave to appeal Superior Courts Act, lis alibi pendens family law, non-joinder expert witness, parental cooperation relocation, reasonable prospects success, section 17 Superior Courts Act, Section 28 Constitution, statutory interpretation children's legislation, upper guardian role, urgency child matters, Western Cape High Court High Court Jurisdiction Over Child Relocation Upheld: N.T.R-F v J.A.L (Leave to Appeal) (2025/076576) [2025] ZAWCHC 377 (18 August 2025) – Expert Assessment Requirements and Appellate Prospects. Factual Matrix: Relocation Assessment and Parental Cooperation in Cross-Border Child Relocation The factual foundation of this Western Cape High Court decision reveals the complex procedural and substantive challenges inherent in… READ MORE
14/08/2025 Bertus Preller Divorce order enforcement, Divorce settlement defects, Litis contestatio, Procedure, Rescission applications, Rescission applications, Settlement agreement interpretation, Settlement agreement variation, Settlement agreements, Urgency, Urgent applications, Validity Divorce Settlement Agreement Alienation of Land Act, bond approval, breach letters, Case Law Analysis, Co-ownership, Consent Papers, conveyancing, divorce order enforcement, estate agents, Family Law, forum selection, High Court jurisdiction, judicial comity, litis contestatio, marital property disputes, matrimonial property, Powers of Attorney, property transfer disputes, Regional Court jurisdiction, rescission applications, Rule 6(12), sale agreements, sectional title, Self-Created Urgency, South African property law, urgent applications, urgent motion proceedings, void ab initio, Western Cape High Court Self-Created Urgency and Invalid Property Agreements: Key Lessons from SPR v NV (2025/119985) [2025] ZAWCHC 346 (13 August 2025). Factual Matrix: Divorce Order Enforcement and Property Transfer Disputes The matter concerned the enforcement of a Regional Court divorce order incorporating a consent paper, where former spouses held immovable property… READ MORE
13/08/2025 Bertus Preller Abduction, Best Interests of the Child, Children, Guardianship, Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Immigration, Relocation, Section 28 Constitution, Unilateral relocation, Views of the Child best interests, child welfare, children's rights, children's act, co-guardianship, conditional consent, consent affidavit, Constitutional Rights, cross-border enforcement, Family Law, guardianship, Hague Convention, international travel, just and equitable relief, Mirror Orders, overseas travel, parental acrimony, parental consent, Parental Responsibilities, passport applications, section 172, section 18, Section 28 Constitution, South African Law, travel disputes, travel documentation, unreasonable refusal, Western Cape High Court When Conditional Consent Becomes Unreasonable Refusal: Parental Rights and Overseas Travel in B.U v C.M and Others (2025/017920) [2025] ZAWCHC 342 (12 August 2025). Factual Background: A Tale of Parental Acrimony and Non-Cooperation The case of B.U v C.M and Others presents a deeply troubling portrait of how parental discord can prejudice a child's… READ MORE
12/08/2025 Bertus Preller Divorce, Divorce Act section 9, Forfeiture of Benefits, Forfeiture patrimonial benefits, Gambling addiction, Marital misconduct, Substantial misconduct, Undue benefit test business failure, casino gambling, Child Custody, community of property, divorce act section 9, divorce costs, divorce proceedings, Engelbrecht judgment, estate liquidation, Family Law, financial misconduct, forfeiture patrimonial benefits, gambling addiction, joint estate division, legal precedent, Marital Assets, marital misconduct, marriage breakdown, Matrimonial Property Regime, Parental Rights, property forfeiture, property investment, receiver and liquidator, rental income, spousal contributions, substantial misconduct, undue benefit test, Western Cape High Court, Wijker case Gambling Addiction vs Substantial Misconduct: When Forfeiture Claims Fail in Community of Property Divorces – P.N v D.N (10481/2018) [2025] ZAWCHC 335 (6 August 2025). Factual Matrix: A 20-Year Marriage Marred by Allegations of Compulsive Gambling The matter before Kholong AJ in the Western Cape Division concerned the dissolution of a marriage that had endured… READ MORE
08/08/2025 Bertus Preller Arrear Maintenance, Arrear Maintenance Variation, Arrears, Contempt of Court, Costs, Divorce, Interim Maintenance, International Divorce, Maintenance, Medical incapacity, Procedure, Punitive Cost Orders, Rule 43, Rule 43 Contempt, Rule 43 Cost Contributions, Rule 43 orders, Rule 58, Variation Rule 43(6) attachment of assets, contempt of court, cross-border maintenance, currency considerations, disability pension, divorce proceedings, enforcement mechanisms, foreign curatorship, international family law, Lekhuleni JD, maintenance arrears, maintenance enforcement, maintenance obligations, medical incapacity, party and party costs, Pendente Lite, Rule 43 orders, Rule 43(6) variation, skiing accident, spousal maintenance, stroke defence, Swiss curatorship, Swiss francs, Trust assets, warrants of execution, Western Cape High Court, wilful contempt When Strokes Don’t Stop Support: Medical Incapacity Fails as Maintenance Defence in NLD v ML (Case No 5785/22) [2025] ZAWCHC 337 (6 August 2025). Factual Matrix: When Medical Incapacity Meets Maintenance Obligations The parties in this matter, heard before Lekhuleni J, were married in Switzerland on 23 June 2000, with their marriage remaining subsisting… READ MORE
04/08/2025 Bertus Preller Abuse of Process, Alimony, Anti-Dissipation Interdicts, anti-dissipatory relief, Child Maintenance, Children, Divorce, International Divorce, Maintenance, Procedural Law, Spousal Maintenance abuse of process, anti-dissipatory interdict, asset dissipation, asset protection, balance of convenience, Bassani Mining, bona fide expenditure, child maintenance, Colombian marriage law, cost orders, cross-border divorce, divorce proceedings, Family Law, foreign matrimonial regime, Hemiparesis disability, intention requirement, interim interdict, international divorce, jurisdictional requirements, Knox D'Arcy test, KSL v AL, mala fide conduct, matrimonial law, prima facie right, procedural pitfalls, spousal maintenance, urgent applications, Western Cape High Court Title: When Cross-Border Divorces Meet Anti-Dissipatory Interdicts: Intention, Abuse of Process and the Knox D’Arcy Test in T.S v J.V.C.P and Another (20783/24) [2025] ZAWCHC 325 (1 August 2025). Factual Matrix: A Cross-Border Marriage in Crisis This case presents the complexities that arise when a marriage governed by foreign law encounters the South African legal system during dissolution proceedings.… READ MORE
27/07/2025 Bertus Preller Children, Inter-provincial custody, Parental Rights, Procedural Law, Relocation, Section 16(3) Superior Courts Act, Unilateral relocation appellate jurisdiction family law, best interests of child, care and contact arrangements, child custody disputes, child relocation law, co-parenting disputes, constitutional law children, curator ad litem, custody appeals, educational stability custody, expert evidence family law, Family Advocate, family law appeals, family law South Africa, high conflict parents, inter-provincial custody, interim custody orders, interim orders appealability, matrimonial proceedings, parental responsibilities and rights, parenting coordinators, play therapy children, section 16(3) Superior Courts Act, Section 28 Constitution, shared residence arrangements, therapeutic intervention custody, unilateral relocation, Western Cape High Court Unilateral Relocation and Shared Custody: Lessons from M.D.P v W.T.P and Another (Appeal) (A139/2024) [2025] ZAWCHC 300 (17 July 2025). Factual Matrix: Unilateral Relocation and the Breakdown of Co-Parenting The dispute in this matter arose from a sequence of events that illustrates the profound consequences of unilateral decision-making in family… READ MORE
18/07/2025 Bertus Preller Best Interests of the Child, Children, Children's Court, constitutional rights of children, Divorce, Family reunification, Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, International Travel, Parental Alienation, Relocation, Reunification, Section 28 Constitution best interests of child, child abduction risk, child welfare, child's voice, children's act, contact arrangements, cross-border custody, custody dispute, custody evaluation, custody proceedings, expert evidence, Family Advocate, family court judgment, family law South Africa, habitual residence, interim custody, international child custody, international divorce, international family law, international jurisdiction, Mirror Orders, non-Hague country, Parental Abduction, parental coaching, Parental Rights, psychological assessment, Qatar family law, relocation application, Western Cape High Court When Borders Divide Families: M.K v A.J.K (11407/2023) [2025] ZAWCHC 288 (7 July 2025) – International Child Custody and the Qatar Dilemma. Factual Background: When Divorce Proceedings Cross International Borders This matter exemplifies the complex legal and practical challenges that arise when families with established lives in foreign jurisdictions face marital breakdown.… READ MORE
13/07/2025 Bertus Preller Alter ego trust, Divorce, Res judicata divorce, Stay of execution, Vexatious litigation abuse of process, alter ego trust, attorney own client costs, civil procedure divorce, CRW v LMW 2025, divorce enforcement, divorce law precedent, divorce trust ruling, family court Cape Town, family law trusts, Le Grange J, legal costs divorce, litigation misconduct, res judicata divorce, rescission of judgment, Rule 45A, Rule 46A, security for costs, South African case law, South African divorce law, stay of execution, trust abuse divorce, trust execution divorce, vexatious litigant South Africa, vexatious litigation, vexatious Proceedings Act, Western Cape High Court, ZAWCHC 279 Lawfare in the Divorce Courts: C.R.W v L.M.W and Another (12866/2014) [2025] ZAWCHC 279 (2 July 2025) Unmasks Vexatious Litigation and Trust Abuse. The Factual Backdrop: A Relentless Legal Battle Post-Divorce The saga in C.R.W v L.M.W and Another (12866/2014) ZAWCHC 279 (2 July 2025) represents one of the most protracted and acrimonious… READ MORE